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Mandatos (Commands) en Español.

There are only two true command forms in Spanish, and they are both related to the familiar forms of the
verb, i.e., "tú" and "vosotros". There are command forms for "Usted" and "Ustedes", but they are derived
from the 3rd person singular and plural of the present subjunctive form of the verb.

In addition, all of the negative forms of command or imperative are derived from the present subjunctive of
the verb, both for familiar ("tú" and "vosotros") and for the polite ("Usted" and "Ustedes")

Let´s break these commands down into their components to see how they are derived and how they work:

                                                            Affirmative Commands

                                    Singular                                                                       Plural

Familiar:      Tú -- This form takes the 3rd person                Vosotros -- This form is the same as the
                 singular of the present indicative                      infinitive of the verb but substituting the
                 with some exceptions.                                       letter "d" for the "r" of the infinitive.

                 Examples:                                                         Examples:

                 Habla (talk), Come (eat),                                   Venid (come), Decid (tell)
                 Corre (run), Abre (open).                                  Hablad (talk), Comed (eat)

There are some exceptions with respect to the "tú"               Those of you who know me know that I neither
form, such as:                                                                        teach nor recommend the use of the "vosotros"
                                                                                           form of the verb, so to me, this is redundant. It
                       Haz (do), Ven (come), Ve (go)                    is included here for informational purposes
                       Ten (have), Di (tell), Sé (be),                      and for the edification of those who wish to use
                       Pon (put), Sal (go out, leave)                      use this form.

Polite:          Usted -- This form is the same as the              Ustedes -- This form is the same as the
                 3rd person singular of the present                    3rd person plural of the present subjunctive
                 subjunctive tense. The easiest way to              tense. The easiest way to remember how
                 remember how to form this command                to form this command form is to replace the
                 form is to replace the "a" of "ar" verbs               "a" of "ar" verbs in the present tense with an
                 in the present tense with an "e" and                  "e" and the "e" of "er" and "ir" verbs in the
                 the "e" of "er" and "ir" in the present                  present tense with an "a".
                 an "a".

                 Examples:                                                           Examples:

                 Hablar becomes Hable                                       Hablan becomes Hablen
                 Comer becomes Come                                       Comer becomes Comen
                 Correr becomes Corra                                        Correr becomes Corran
                 Abrir becomes Abra                                            Abrir becomes Abran

                                                               Negative Commands

Familiar:      Tú -- The "tú" form of the imperative takes the ending of the 2nd person singular of the
                 present subjunctive. That is, "a" becomes "e" and "e" becomes "a".

                 Examples:

                 No hables (don´t talk)                                         No Abras (don´t open)
                 No comas (don´t eat)                                          No Corras (don´t run)

Polite:          Usted -- The "Usted" form takes the                  Ustedes -- The "Ustedes" form takes the
                3rd person singular of the present                       3rd person plural of the present subjunctive
                subjunctive just as in the affirmative.                    just as in the affirmative.

                Examples:                                                             Examples:

                No hable (don´t talk)                                             No hablen (don´t talk)
                No coma (don´t eat)                                              No coman (don t eat)
                No corra (don t run)                                              No corran (don´t run)
                No abra (don t open)                                            No abran (don´t open)

Imperative forms are not that difficult to work with. Just remember that for polite, both singular and plural,
and for familiar in the negative, change the "a" or "as" endings of "ar" verbs to an "e" or to an "es" and the

"e" or "es" of "er" verbs to an "a" or to an "as", and you have it.

Familiar in the singular is just the normal 3rd person singular of the present tense. That´s all there is to it.

And, remember, you can hang your pronouns on the end of these command forms, e.g., "dámelo" ("give it to
me" in the familiar) or "Démelo" ("give it to me" in the polite form).